1. On December 26 (New York time), the government of the Republic of Korea submitted to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) information on the ROK’s continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the East China Sea, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

° On May 12, 2009, the ROK government had submitted to the UN “preliminary information,” which was confined only to a part of the outer limits of the continental shelf in the East China Sea within the “Joint Development Zone” between the ROK and Japan. The Preliminary Information indicated that the ROK government intended to make its submission at an appropriate date.

° The ROK government’s submission was made to officially proclaim that the outer limits of the continental shelf of the ROK extend to the Okinawa Trough through natural prolongation of its land territory.

2. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade had led close consultations among experts from relevant state agencies -- the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, and the National Oceanographic Research Institute -- as well as civilian experts in oceanography and international law. After the consultations, the ROK government established the outer limits of the ROK’s extended continental shelf by applying the “foot of the continental slope (FOS) + 60 nautical miles” formula within 350 nautical miles from the its territorial sea baselines, which is the maximum range claimable under the relevant international law.

3. The submission by the ROK government, however, is without prejudice to the issue of boundary delimitation in the relevant waters. The boundary delimitation in the East China Sea will be finalized through negotiations among the three countries concerned, namely the ROK, China, and Japan.

4. The ROK government will continue making efforts to facilitate the necessary procedures within the CLCS for the consideration of the submitted information in a seamless manner and will engage actively in negotiations with its neighboring countries on maritime boundary delimitation, both with a view to maximizing Korea’s national interest.

                Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation